Uber adds ‘senior accounts’ to support rides for older people

I’ve written many times on this blog about the importance of helping older people maintain their independence as long as possible. Transportation is one of the most critical elements for independence. Uber is adding a service that will allow families to coordinate rideshare services with their older family members. Previously, Uber launched Uber Caregiver as part of its Uber Health initiatives.

My parents were fortunate that even though they lived in a small mountain town, there was a county shuttle service that served low-income and older people. It was door to door service, meaning my parents could get to doctor’s appointments and the grocery store as well as go to the movie theatre and dine at a restaurant. However, the shuttle service was always on the county government chopping block, because of the cost and lack of profitability along with ignorance of some of the county officials. “Why can’t we just buy them all a car,” one particularly dense councilmember said during a meeting.

There are many reasons why older people stop driving. In my mother’s case, she never learned to drive, which is not uncommon for older women. In my father’s case, his dementia made driving dangerous. Other common medical conditions like vision issues can also lead to a loss of driving ability.

One of the main issues when people no longer have access to reliable transportation is isolation. Older people may be cut off from opportunities to socialize on a regular basis. Their ability to access healthy food may be limited. And those with a lack of transportation options may delay doctor’s appointments.

The Uber senior accounts have the following features:

• A simplified app interface.
• Family members can track trips and call drivers, as well as ride safety features.
• The ability to add Medicare Advantage cards to pay for eligible medical trips.

There are other community-based programs that offer similar transportation services, but Uber’s service area has a much wider reach, meaning those who are not served by those smaller companies may be able to take advantage of this new feature.

Image created by Google Gemini.